Nothing But A Puppet
by taz.kelly
Summary: Sakura and Chiyo defeat Sasori, but he's not dead. He has a choice, live or die. He wants to die, to be with his parents... like that's going to happen. You can't always have what you want.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Naruto, really, I'm completely broke.

**You're nothing but a puppet**

**Chapter 1**

Sasori walked through the streets of Konoha. One would think, just by looking at the strange man, that he was a tourist; lost and wandering around aimlessly. He didn't want to be there, but it was necessary for their mission. People would normally scatter at the sight of him, but he was in disguise after all. People just saw him as a regular civilian.

He was really annoyed now. Deidara was late. What could he be doing? He knew that Sasori hated waiting.

"No, Naruto!" he heard someone hiss. "You can't go pranking people whenever you want!"

"Aw, but Sakura-chan," a boy whined. "Just look at him, he's practically begging to be pranked."

Were these children talking about him? Did they not know who he was? Well of course they didn't. He had forgotten that he was in disguise.

"Baka, can't you tell he's not from here!" the girl he assumed was Sakura hissed again. "Do you want to give Konoha a bad name?"

These brats were talking about him. Who did they think they were? These Konoha kids really had no manners. It was a pity he couldn't kill them. He didn't need any unwanted attention. With that in mind he turned around to face the brats. One had black hair and eyes and stood to the side as if pretending not to know the other two. He resembled Itachi, so Sasori assumed it was the younger Uchiha. The other two were quite comical indeed. A blonde, blue-eyed boy who was still reaching out in the hopes of dragging Sasori's pants down and a pink-haired girl pulling the back of the boy's collar, preventing him from moving any closer. Both grinned sheepishly at him.

"Go and play with someone else, you brats," he said; his face void of any emotion. He looked them up and down. They were ninja, probably just graduated from the academy. It wouldn't even be worth it to dispose of them.

"I'm back, un," came the voice of his partner, Deidara. "Who are these brats?"

"Who you calling a brat, you bastard!" yelled Naruto, jumping at Deidara. He was held back once again by the girl, Sakura, who bonked his head and dragged him in the opposite direction after apologising to them.

"Dobe," could be heard from the young Uchiha as he followed his friends. Sasori just couldn't believe they were ninja, the Uchiha maybe, but those two? How did they manage to accomplish that? The girl looked rather pathetic and weak; the blonde just looked plain stupid.

"Did you get the scroll?" Sasori asked impatiently.

"Um no, un," his partner replied nervously. "This is the hardest mission ever. If I was allowed to kill those old bags then I'd have it by now, but no, I have to blend in, talk them into handing it over. It takes time."

"Well, just hurry up," Sasori said and started to walk in the direction of the inn they had been living at for the past week. The plan was that he, Sasori, would do all the negotiating, but they had just found him untrustworthy, so they had waited a week and then sent Deidara in. Sasori had tried a number of disguises, but his personality was the problem here so he had to step aside.

Sasori set with his back against a tree. Bored wasn't the word to describe how he felt and his patience was really wearing thin.

The three brats from before entered the field. Their sensei was nowhere to be seen so they couldn't be here to train. They hadn't seen him yet so they couldn't be there to 'prank' him. He jumped into the tree and watched them fooling around like little kids. So carefree, or so he thought. Their sensei arrived an hour later.

"YOU'RE LATE," the pink and blonde both yelled in unison pointing at their sensei. They were so loud. He'd never seen anything quite like those two before. They were actually ninja? He sat there undetected, as he watched them begin their training. The Uchiha wasn't that bad he had to admit, but the other two... the Naruto boy didn't think before acting which just told Sasori that he really was an idiot. Sakura, the girl, was what he called pathetic. Her only concern was the Uchiha and she just kept fainting. Shinobi did not faint. Overall, their teamwork was terrible and he couldn't bear to watch anymore, so he left. Deidara would probably be done for the day anyway.

He was right; Deidara was done for the day and had a surprise for his partner. He had finally managed to get the scroll and that meant they could finally leave Konoha. He was so relieved, but that didn't show on his impassive face. They both left in the same manner they had entered the village, undetected. They were Akatsuki after all.

Sakura and Naruto were trying to get the bells from their sensei once again. Both had been training with different people to improve their skills for almost three years. Their other teammate, Sasuke Uchiha, had left the village. He had become a traitor. They were determined to bring him back no matter what.

Both, Kakashi and Naruto, were shocked to see Sakura's inhuman strength. It wasn't something they'd expect from their little cherry blossom. They were impressed though, she had come a long way.

Gaara, the fifth Kazekage, had been kidnapped by two Akatsuki members. Their mission – to get him back. Team Kakashi and old lady Chiyo headed out. They weren't to engage in any sort of battle until back-up arrived. That was understandable. One jounin, one chuunin, one genin and an old lady were hardly a match for two S-Class criminals. Well, maybe Kakashi was, but there were two of them. The team split up eventually, Kakashi and Naruto going after the Akatsuki who had Gaara's body. He was dead... that couldn't be right could it?

Sakura and Chiyo faced the other Akatsuki. He used puppets in battle, just like Chiyo. Sakura was afraid. She had never faced such a dangerous opponent before, but she had vowed a long time ago that she would become strong. She wouldn't allow anyone to fight for her again. This was her chance to prove herself.

Sasori couldn't help the surprise that spread across his face when he saw who his opponents were. He was glad that he was inside Hiruko. His grandmother; She was the one who thought him about puppetry, but he was certain that he could beat her easily. Beside her was a girl. He recognised her immediately even though he had seen her only twice before and that was three years ago. Sakura, the girl who he deemed unworthy to be a ninja. She was standing next to his grandmother, the childishness replaced with some maturity. He could tell she was nervous. Was this her first battle? That would be very unfortunate if it were true. Why would they send her after the Akatsuki anyway? She was hardly what one would call a ninja.

That was Sasori's biggest mistake, underestimating Sakura's skill as a ninja combined with his grandmother's efforts. She was good, he had to admit that. She destroyed most of his puppets. She created an antidote for his poison. No one could ever do that. She was an amazing kunoichi.

"You're nothing but a puppet," she deadpanned as his blade went through her chest. "Excuse the pun."

That was all she said directly to him. To anyone else it would've sounded stupid, but he understood her. He was a puppet, controlled by the Akatsuki. He had no free will. They controlled everything he did. He didn't even completely know what the Akatsuki was about. He really was their puppet. He felt disgusted with himself. HE was the true puppet master, but he let them pull his strings. That was when he suddenly felt his life slipping away. His grandmother had used the puppets of his parents to stab his heart while he was distracted. He was glad; he'd die in his parents' arms. The girl healed herself with Chiyo's help. She really was amazing. They had defeated the undefeated puppet master. He gave them valuable information as a reward for defeating him and slipped into darkness.

Sasori stood with his back facing the edge of the cliff. He faced darkness, slowly creeping toward him. There was a voice in his head. 'You can go back' it said. He didn't want to go back; there was nothing for him back there. He was a puppet, so why was he even in this place? He thought that he'd just dissolve into nothingness. He was no longer natural; perhaps he'd just switch off like a machine. That's what he'd always thought. He could feel the faint beating of his damaged heart. He was still alive. He could return, maybe ask someone to heal his heart... that girl, she was a medic... she was his enemy though. She put him in this predicament in the first place; she would just make sure she actually killed him this time around. But he didn't really want to go back. He could be with his parents again. He smiled at the thought, yes, he'd be with his parents; but the darkness... it was getting closer. He didn't want to be consumed by it. Was that what would happen to him if he chose to stay? It didn't look very welcoming; his parents couldn't be in there.

The darkness crept closer and closer; it would consume him, he didn't want that. He was afraid; for the first time in over twenty years he was scared. He wanted his parents. Death was supposed to bring him to them. Why weren't they there? 'You were a terrible person; you don't deserve to be with them'. There was that voice again, cold and uncaring; the way he spent his life – cold and uncaring. He was petrified. His ninja abilities would not help in this situation, he was helpless. The darkness was now creeping up his body, up his legs, his chest; it was suffocating him. He couldn't breathe... wait he never needed to breathe, why did he need air so desperately now? He stumbled backwards, almost fully consumed. This wasn't right; it wasn't supposed to happen this way. He jumped from the cliff, the darkness already fading away.

Sasori's eyes opened. He was still in the cave. The sky was darkening outside. He was alive? Why was his body aching? Why did he feel all fleshy? Why was his ring missing? He was sure the girl didn't take it. Did the Akatsuki retrieve the ring while he was 'dead'? That meant he was no longer a member of that organization. He looked around; the ground was littered with the remains of his puppets. This caused him to curse inwardly; he had no weapons, he was human again somehow and that made him vulnerable. He did not like it at all.


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: **it's still not mine people!

Hey here's the second chapter=D anyway, I'm doing another Sakura/Sasori fic, but that one is a Harry Potter crossover. Well, keep an eye out for that one. I'm trying not to make it as cliché as the others. It might only be a one-shot.

**Chapter 2**

It was strange; her first real kill was a puppet. Sure, he was a criminal, but it bothered her. Her following missions became easier to stomach, easier to complete without letting her emotions get in the way. She was easy to read, her emotions always got the better of her, but somehow it all changed after her fight with Sasori. It was like nothing could compare to that battle. She could admit to herself that she actually regretted killing the puppet master. He was an interesting 'person'. She had only learnt that after his death. She wanted to know what made him tick, what went through his mind, what turned him into the monster she had fought so hard against. She knew his life wasn't all sunshine and rainbows, but it couldn't have been so bad that he would go as far as turning himself into a puppet. Sakura was very curious.

Simple missions were always the most dangerous when you were on a team with Naruto, Kakashi-sensei and herself. Yes, she noticed this every time 'simple' and 'mission' were used in the same sentence. It was like their team was cursed; trouble just always seemed to find them no matter how hard they tried to avoid it. This was why Sakura was running around her room grabbing everything that would be useful for her next mission. She had to be prepared for anything, because she just knew something bad would happen.

"Hey, Sakura-chan. Ready to go?" Naruto asked when she finally emerged from her room. "What's all that for?" he asked, noticing the many items she had on her person. He was a ninja, so he knew he had to be prepared for anything, but Sakura was going a bit overboard.

"I'm just not taking any chances. We always run into trouble," she replied.

"But Baa-chan said we just have to pick up some herbs for her in Wave. It's not even a mission. I think Baa-chan is just too lazy to get it herself and we were just there when she needed someone. She would probably have sent those two errand boys that guard the gates if we weren't there..." Naruto complained, but Sakura had already blocked out his annoying voice. He was too loud and it was just too early.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Sasori was hungry. That was all that went through his mind as wandered around. It had been weeks, but he still couldn't get used to the fact that he needed nourishment now, that he was like everyone else. He had no money and had to steal like a common thief. He still retained all his skills as an s-class criminal so stealing was easy, but he was still disgusted with the idea and only did it when absolutely necessary; and that was why he looked and felt like some poor, starved animal.

There was a stream nearby, he could hear the water. Maybe he could have some of the water, maybe catch a few fish and be on his way. That wouldn't be stealing. He approached the stream cautiously; people didn't need to know that he was alive and still at large. He was still the same Sasori, the powerful puppet master, but his puppet supply and confidence was somewhat lacking. He did not wish to endanger his new fragile body. He was not used to it and he could easily forget that he was all flesh and could die.

The area was clear, so he dropped the rag he used as a cloak and scooped water with his hands. He could feel a little strength return to his body as he drank scoop after scoop. He drank as much as his thin body would allow and drew a kunai from his leg pouch; from what he could see, there were hardly any fish, but he was hungry and he'd catch his fish even if it took him all day. He was no longer a puppet and therefore, patience was essential. He couldn't kill himself for making him wait anyway.

"BUT SAKURA-CHAN," there was that voice again, loud and annoying, always whining. It was growing louder, he could sense two people headed in his direction so he quickly masked his chakra. It was her... Sakura. She was with the Kyuubi container, that Naruto boy. Would she recognise him if they found him? He hoped not.

"No Naruto, we have to get these herbs back to Tsunade-sama. We already visited Inari, we can't stay for the festival as well," Sakura replied. So they weren't on a mission, just passing through. Sasori sighed in relief. Now, Sasori wasn't afraid, he was just not very good at close combat and one punch from Sakura would definitely kill him this time. He wasn't ready to face the darkness just yet.

"I heard something," Naruto whispered and pointed at the spot where Sasori hid.

"Not another squirrel," Sakura groaned. He'd been doing this since their journey began. He was gone before she could say anything else, so she hurriedly followed him, hoping she'd be in time to save the poor squirrel.

"Hey Sakura," he called from a tree. "There's some dirty kid hiding over here."

Sasori stared at the blonde with wide eyes. This was a good hiding place right? Right? How did they find him? And who was he calling a kid? He was like two decades older than this idiot. And Sakura, why was she giving him that look? Was that pity? Okay, so he was too skinny and really filthy, but that didn't make him a hobo! Well, he was homeless and poor and starving, but no, not a hobo. Sasori glared at them, the stupid brats.

"Um, what are you doing here, where is your family? It's really not safe to be out here on your own," Sakura said politely. So she didn't recognise him, good. She looked him up and down, "We were going to stop for lunch, you can join us if you want."

Sasori nodded. He knew it was too dangerous, but he was just so hungry. He followed them down the tree and to a spot that hid the stream behind some trees. Sakura hurried to the stream for water while Naruto found some would. With that out of the way Naruto pulled several packs of instant ramen from his bag and Sakura headed back to the stream to freshen up. The ramen wasn't difficult to prepare and they all began eating silently. Sasori was amazed, so this was how to shut the blonde up. Just feed him lots of ramen.

**Yay! So chapter 2 is finally up. Thank you for reading and pleeeeeez leave a review, I'm dying to know what you think. Oh and I'm really sorry but the next chapter might take a while, college is keeping me busy, but on the plus side chapter 2 for 'the wrong side of the track' is done and just needs to be uploaded. Chapter 3 is almost done so yay=)**


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: **nope, not mine!

Thank you to everyone who reviewed, you're awesome! I'm really sorry this took so long, connection problems. Anyway, here's chapter 3, sorry it's so short =)

**Chapter 3**

Sakura couldn't help but wonder what this boy was doing here all alone. He was so thin and filthy, she was sure he had no home, but why was he like this? Naruto was alone all his life and he was better than ever. Why would anyone not offer to help him?

"Hey, go clean yourself up," Sakura said, handing Sasori a bar of soap and pointing at the stream.

"Yeah, you smell!" Naruto said. Sasori didn't move. If he washed all the dirt off then she would definitely recognise him.

"No, I'm okay," Sasori replied. Sakura's eyes widened, she knew that voice, but she never expected to here it again. The person that voice belonged to was a puppet, a dead puppet. She looked at the boy again, maybe he was also from Suna.

"Naruto, just take him to the stream and make sure he gets cleaned up," Sakura said. Maybe she'd be able to recognise him without all the dirt caked to his skin; having Naruto around was enough, she didn't need another hygienically challenged idiot to take care of, although, she was hoping the boy wasn't an idiot.

Sasori was dragged to the stream by Naruto. There was really nothing he could do about it, he wasn't in the best of conditions physically. Naruto flung him into the water and jumped in after him. Why couldn't he just nudge him into the water gently and follow after him? The Kyuubi kid really was an idiot.

Running away was the first thing Sasori thought of, but he knew he'd be caught and his pride just wouldn't let him. He was still a criminal, feared by many, the puppet master. So he let Naruto scrub him none too gently; ready to face Sakura, the girl who killed him and would probably kill him again, he wished he had at least one puppet to defend himself if that were to happen. Sure he was good at hand to hand combat, but he wasn't a close-range fighter; something Sakura specialised in. He wasn't scared, he was just worried about his body. If Sakura was able to destroy his puppets with only her fists, what would she do to his living body?

Sakura's eyes went wide for the second time that day. The boy before her was - no it couldn't be. Sasori was dead, he was a dead puppet who shouldn't have been alive in the first place; it just wasn't natural, but here he stood, in the flesh (excuse the pun). When did he grow flesh and bone? She shook her head, he couldn't be Sasori. He was nervous around them, as if afraid they might kill him. Sasori had no fear - or any other emotion for that matter.

"What's your name?" Sakura asked the boy as he and Naruto sat beside her.

"Sasori…" he replied. "You don't remember me? You were the brat who helped my grandmother kill me."

Naruto looked between Sakura and Sasori. He couldn't recall ever meeting Sasori before… he looked vaguely familiar, but he just couldn't remember. Maybe he was Gaara's cousin or something, maybe that's why he looked so familiar. He looked between the two again, noticing for the first time that they were no longer seated, instead, they stood facing each other.

"If what you say is true than tell me, how are you standing here? Why aren't you a puppet?" Sakura asked, a kunai raised. She just couldn't believe it, but a part of her knew he was telling the truth.

"I don't know…" Sasori replied.

"Sakura-chan, who is this?" Naruto asked. This was all too confusing.

Sakura glared at her team-mate, how could he not recognise Sasori? He was the one who wanted to kill him and his partner the second he laid his eyes on Gaara's form laying at their feet… oh, she remembered, Sasori was wearing that hideous puppet and a cloak over that. Naruto had never seen him before. Telling Naruto that he was with the Akatsuki wouldn't be wise.

"He is a friend, Naruto."

"But he just said you killed him!"

"How could I have killed him if he's right here?"

"Ehh! He's a zombie out for revenge, I'll protect -" Sakura cut him off with a punch in the face.

"Baka! I'll tell you about it later," she said and dragged Sasori away. She was going to get to the bottom of this, there was no way he could be alive… maybe he was a zombie out for revenge. If that were the case she'd have to aim for his head and - she shook her head again, hanging out with Naruto has melted her brain.

"Okay, talk," she demanded. She could feel the confidence seeping through her pores, or maybe that was just sweat, either way she was becoming more nervous with each minute that passed. Her memories of Sasori weren't pleasant, their first and last meeting, the day she had learnt about his past, the day she had learnt about his abilities, her first real battle, the day she almost died, the day he lost his life, the first time she felt regret for taking an enemy's life; it all happened in one day, but here he stood. Seeing him again… she knew she wouldn't ever see him again, but she had hoped. Now, though… he was a criminal. He had almost killed her. To him, she was just a annoying mosquito. If he had survived that last attack, she wouldn't have been here now. So yes she was nervous.

"I do not have any answers for you," he said. "I was dead and then I was alive."

"What do you want?" Sakura wondered why he was acting so differently, could it really be him?

"I'm searching… I am human again. I have been given a second chance. I haven't returned to kill you."

Sakura closed her eyes, she believed him. It was odd because she'd never ever trust her enemies, but due to unforeseen circumstances… but what was she supposed to do? Was he going to accompany them or would they be parting ways? This was awkward. She knew she couldn't just waltz back into Konoha with a known criminal by her side, but this would also be her last chance to learn more about him. She just had a feeling that there was a reason why they crossed paths again. She just didn't know what that reason was.

The two of them made their way back to camp only to find two Akatsuki members and an unconscious Naruto in the larger one's arms. She blinked and they were gone.

**So, that's it for chapter 3. Please leave a review and don't be afraid to tell me how I should improve. I'm not happy with this, but I just can't figure out what is wrong. Any ideas?**


	4. Chapter 4

**Sooo… I know it's been an eternity since the last time I've updated and time machines don't exist, meaning I can't go back to post this earlier. Oh well, I'm posting it now, so yay!**

**Chapter 4**

Uchiha Itachi and Hoshigake Kisame stood before them, looking all mighty and in your face. Something was definitely wrong here. These two criminals weren't known for hanging around the scene of the crime and their chakra signatures just felt wrong. The fear she had felt when her team had first encountered Itachi just wasn't there and his eyes - she had heard that the sharingan was almost always activated, but here he stood with no sharingan in sight.

"Let go of him!" Sakura yelled, already in her battle stance. Naruto was unconscious, she could see the bump on his head from where she stood. It really was odd, Naruto wouldn't have gone down so easily, and even if he did he would've made a lot of noise.

"Make us," Itachi said smugly.

It was then that Sakura raised an eyebrow at the two s-ranked criminals before them. She knew that Itachi was always calm and expressionless. And this Kisame was awfully quiet. Now, Sakura wasn't sure, but she was going to take a chance. She would rather die fighting then watch them take Naruto away.

She glanced nervously at Sasori, she still couldn't believe it was him and 'zombie' kept popping up in her head. But what she needed to know was which side he was on. Judging from his appearance and lack of chakra, she'd say he was on her side… fat load of good that would do.

Sasori watched as she charged at the two criminals before them. He could tell that they were impostors, probably some chuunin trying to get into the Akatsuki's good books, so he was sure she could take them out on her own. The only problem was that she was too predictable. She never used ninjutsu or genjutsu, only trusting her chakra-enhanced strength. Now, he admitted before that she was extremely powerful, but charging in with a raised fist wont always work. He was just unlucky, because he just had too many smash-able things, including his body. He was certain their fight would've ended sooner if she added ninjutsu and genjutsu, but she seemed to enjoy making things difficult for herself. Or maybe she was just stupid.

'Itachi' charged towards Sakura, another odd thing. He always waited for you to come to him. Because he was cool like that. Sakura stopped running and landed a chakra-enhanced punch to the ground, surprising 'Itachi' and causing him to stumble and then fall unceremoniously into the dirt. Sakura felt something within her stir, something that had left years ago, Inner Sakura burst out laughing and Sakura sweat-dropped. Really? Seriously?

She smirked at her two opponents and charged once again. The fight was over in minutes, it turned out that the two criminals really were impostors. Sakura sighed, and here she thought she was really awesome fighting the infamous Uchiha Itachi and Hoshigake Kisame.

"You're not that good," Sasori said with a smirk. He watched as her face turned red with embarrassment and then anger.

"What did you say?" she growled. Oh, she was going to kill him again. She stomped to him and grabbed him by the collar of the stupid rag he wore.

Sasori was nervous, she could break him easily in the state he was in, but he was Sasori of the Red Sands dammit, she did not scare him one bit, even as she raised her fist again. Nope, he wasn't scared.

"Sakura-chan?" Naruto asked groggily. He rubbed the bump on his head as his eyes searched for his teammate.

"Baka!" Sakura yelled furiously at the blonde, immediately letting go of Sasori. "How could you let your guard down like that? You could've been taken away by that!" she pointed at the two unconscious ninja.

"But Sakuraaa," Naruto whined. "They snuck up on me while I was trying to cook some ramen."

This earned him another bump on top of the bump on his head.

…...

"So what are we going to do with him?" Naruto asked, gesturing at Sasori.

She wondered about their situation. She could convince herself that he really was a zombie, chop off his head and be on her way. No one would know… except Naruto. She sighed, Naruto still had no clue about who he was or his previous affiliation. She should really kill him, it was her duty, but she already did. He deserved a second chance, right? Right?

"So what will you do now?" Sakura asked. Because asking him would make her decision so much easier.

"Find home," Sasori replied.

"You could come to Konoha with us," Naruto said excitedly, still having no clue as to who this boy was.

Sakura's eyes bulged at this, "You can't just invite a complete stranger into our village, you moron!"

"But, you just said he was a friend of yours," Naruto said, scratching his head in confusion.

Sakura thought for a moment, no one besides herself knew his true identity. He could always use a different name and make up some story about wandering around for years, it wasn't like Konoha to not allow strangers in, it happened all the time. Well, they've never willingly let criminals just come and go, but he was almost literally reborn. He wasn't the same person he was before, or maybe he was pretending so that she would feed him. She didn't know why, but she wanted him to accompany them back to Konoha. She had too many questions and she needed answers.

"You could come with us… Sora," she said quietly, as if still lost in thought. She'd decided to call him Sora because it was the closest thing to 'Sasori' and she'd just forget anything else, and she was sure he wouldn't complain.

"You're coming with us," she said more firmly. She wasn't sure if this decision was up to her, but after learning that he was alive again… it just wouldn't sit well with her to just let him be on his merry way as if nothing happened.

…...

**That's it for chapter 4. I'm really sorry it's so short, especially after my long absence, but if I were to carry on with this chapter it would've turned out worse. Sigh… please leave a review, I'd love to know what you think. It would also be nice if you made some suggestions, because this fic really is just hanging on a thread.**


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